Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Utley To Have Surgery Today

The aching cries of Phillies fans everywhere were heard in a collective scream today of “Nooooooo!!!!” as the news broke about Chase Utley.While this is not a huge shock after the injury to his thumb earlier this week, the news still hurts.Utley will have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb today.The Phillies first said it was a sprain but after visits to 3 different doctors, it is a tear that needs to be fixed.

The recovery time is said to be about 6 weeks, which sounds like a very conservative estimate to me.But Utley has healed quickly in the past after other procedures, like his hip surgery, and everyone knows he will dedicate himself fully to getting well as soon as humanly possible.Whatever happens, the Phillies are now without their number one player until at least mid-August.

I am going to sit in a corner for a while and cry, maybe eat some Ben & Jerry’s and then watch the movie Titanic for the 50th time or so.But after that, we should all pick ourselves up, dust off and start preparing for a very interesting season.Ruben Amaro Jr. is going to need to get help…fast.This will be the true test of Amaro’s ability to manage a team.We are all waiting to see what he does.

I’d expect Chase to be looking at first week of August, but as it seems has been the norm this year keeping players on the DL for extended periods may happen here too. Valdez is doing good defensively and hopefully others will step up and fill in the power loss… at least we get a few days off after the Pirates weekend…

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